Posts tagged ‘Periods’

My second therapy session was such a fail it didn’t even deserve its own post. All he did was talk about what gender dysphoria was. I was quite upset by the wasted hour.

The third session went good. He seems to repeat what I am having the sessions for, which is kind of unnecessary. He assured me he wouldn’t ask for any more money. Then it was just the basic questions of when the dysphoria started and when I noticed I was different. He asked what puberty was like and how work and friends gendered me. Then he asked how I dressed again. It’s kind of annoying when they ask the same questions over again.

The best part out of the session was he asked if was wanted the letter sooner or later. Of course I said sooner. Turns out he will be writing it this week and we will review it together next session. I’m so excited to be getting my letter. One step will soon be out of the way for a better life.

So my first with session Dr Graham went well. He asked all kinds of questions and some I wasn’t even expecting. He tried to dabble into my past but as I have a bad memory we quickly talked about now. It was a relief that we didn’t get hung up on things that happened forever ago. He also assured me that Medalie would take his letter. I already knew that but that’s fine. Then he asked me when I was having surgery. The way he worded it, it sounded like if I needed the letter ASAP he would make it happen.

We talked about my name and where and who and how I go by it. We also talked about my wardrobe. It was more complicated as I haven’t really shopped for new clothes in like 5 years, besides the few things I pick up here and there. Nothing was girly girl clothes so that satisfied him as an answer. He wanted to know how often I dressed male. We dabbled on my grandmothers support for me and how I made it clear my mom wasn’t going to know any time soon as she doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut. It didn’t seem like that answer bugged him.

We also talked about T. I was clear I wasn’t sure if I would ever start it. I was amazed at his answer. “Well as I said there is no pre requisite to take hormones with top surgery – If you pass well and feel comfortable with that then quite frankly I see no reason for you to take T”. Finally someone who gets it. I don’t have a fear now that he won’t think that I’m not “trans enough” to get this done.

We also talked about me getting a hysterectomy. Now I was surprised as yes it has crossed my mind,way before I knew I was trans actually, but it wasn’t something I was researching or planning to get any time soon. With that discussion came about the monthly periods. I told him I was on Depo and I was fine taking that for now. Though if I could take something without proestrogen it I would. Then he was like T is for life, or until the inner girly parts are removed.

Then we wrapped up with how I thought the session went. We even joked about how it saves gasoline. “Come to me – I save you gasoline :-)” It must suck for those that have to travel over an hour just for therapy. They should really meet Dr. Graham and save a bundle. I will see him again next week. Turns out it will only be about 4 sessions, not the 8-10 that I had said before.

I got three follows and a post ‘like’ overnight. That was pretty cool.

Periods. Periods. Periods. Every FAAB (female assigned at birth) that I know of hates them. They aren’t fun and just get in the way of living your life. Worse of all for me it made the middle school years turn into a big emptiness that I don’t even remember, well except for bits and pieces. The “maturing” thing as a whole probably was the cause of that but it wouldn’t of been so bad if I didn’t bleed. Fast forward to 18-19 I forget which one. I was just sick of periods. They weren’t extremely painful as long as I took some pain pills and the flow wasn’t so terrible that I needed super heavy tampons in 24/7 but it still sucked. It doesn’t matter how much you bleed, any blood is bad.

I forget exactly how it happened but I ended up at the doctor with my mom for some reason and some how I convinced them both that I needed these periods to stop. Yeah that same idiot doctor that doesn’t keep track of my appointments… He mentioned birth control pills but that wasn’t going to work for me. No way would I remember to take one each day. Then he mentioned Depo-Provera. You can read all about it here. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-shot-depo-provera-4242.htm

The worse part about it was the pap smear… but once you get over that no problems. Fun thing is the Depo looks like testosterone as far as I can tell and is injected the same way. The best part is it’s only one shot every three months. The nurse at the doctors office does it so there is no co-pay either. Some of those nurses suck though. If the Depo is about to run on my pants wipe it up fast!!! Don’t let it drip on my clothes!!!!! That has happened on more than one occasion.

I pay $56 every three months with my insurance for the shot. Without insurance it is $90. At least where I am. The $56 is well worth the cost of not having to buy pads, tampons, and lots of pain pills every month. Plus chuck in new underwear occasionally. Even if all of those don’t quite add up to $56 the relief of not bleeding is worth the cost difference.

I have been taking Depo for over two years and haven’t had any problems with it. I recommend it as a short term “before you are out to your parents, get rid of periods” option or a “I have to wait for T*” option. I didn’t even know I was trans when I started it but it has made life more bearable and made me able to hold a job without having to worry about bleeding at work. Tan pants and blood don’t mix well…

*Note that I don’t know the effects of taking Depo and then starting straight on T so ask your doctor so you don’t get any medication issues. You don’t want to risk getting sick and dying now. I would love to know if it is safe to do, so if anyone asks their doctor please tell me.